Dr. Ray Wisniewski - Healthy Spices

From a study published in the Journal of Medicinal Foods, here are the top spices and their health benefits.  They work best with raw foods,  as cooking reduces the spices’ antioxidant levels by 45-70%.

  • Licorice: Buffers the inflammatory response by increasing steroid output by your adrenal glands; a good buffer if your immune system is over responding to the flu.

  • Turmeric: ORAC (a measure of antioxidant activity) score of 159,277; general immune system booster due to its high antioxidant capacity, and an anticancer agent as well; turmeric is 5 to 8 times stronger than vitamins C and E, and even strong enough to scavenge the hydroxyl radical, which is considered by some to be the most reactive of all oxidant

  • Black Pepper: Increases the bioavailability of just about all other foods -- herbs and other compounds.

  • Oregano: ORAC 13,970; active agent is rosmarinic acid, a strong antioxidant.

  • Cinnamon: ORAC 267,536; powerful antimicrobial agent -- found to kill E. coli and many other bacteria, and also has anti-inflammatory compounds.

  • Cloves: The ORAC grand prize winner at 314,446, highest of all foods tested! Contains eugenol and its mild anesthetic benefits are useful for toothaches and sore throats, also a good anti-inflammatory.